中美家庭价值观对比-英文版

Differences of Family Values Between China and America

Abstract :This paper tries to make a comparis on of differe nt family values betwee n China and US, which appeared in many fields, for instanee, the American emphasis the in dividualism but Chin ese focus on the collectivism, the relati on ship betwee n family members and their attitudes to each otheare also quite different, the life style in flue need by family values are varied. Reas on sfor these differe nces are complex, in clud ing differe nt customs, cultures and social backgro unds and so on.

Key words: family values, life styles, cultures, differe nces.

I」ntroduction

Family is the most basic unit of all human society. It reflects the ethical values of a society, its cultural characteristics and the unique features of a n ati on. People beg in to lear n anything about the world and their culture through the family they are brought up in. What you think, how you act, eve n your Ian guage, are all tran smitted through the family from the wider cultural con text.

Family values are the core in the research of cultural values, and it has a huge in flue nee on people ' s thoughts and behaviors. So if we want to get a glimpse of the cultures of two different countries, it is necessary to know their different family values. In this paper we will analyze family values from different aspects, including the decisive family values, the attitude to the family members and their relationships, and the in flue nces of family values.

n .The differences of family values.

A. The individualism VS. the collectivism

The America n emphasize the pers onal in depe nden ce, while Chin ese emphasize on the whole family, not any in dividual member. Childre n in America have more freedom tha n that in Chi na. Their pare nts rarely in terfere with their private affairs, and usually try to enhance children a lls-around abilities when they are young. They

han die their own affairs themselves and try to get support from their colleagues or experts who work in the releva nt field, and their family members only give suggestions to them. The key point

of its society is freedom. Obviously, we Chinese pay more atte nti on to the in terest of whole family tha n that of any in dividual Ins.

China, children usually live with their parents even after they are grown-up, since Chin ese people want a more un ited family and closer relati on ship betwee n family members. The living style in China is different compared with that in America. Chinese people like to live with their parents and they think this kind of living style may help them have more opport unity to un dersta nd other family members. This ki nd of liv ing style can n arrow the gap betwee n family members and whe n an ybody faces with a problem, the others can help him effectively and efficiently. The living style also reflects that Chin ese people ma in ly emphasize the whole family but not the in dividuals, which is quite differe nt from America ns.

B. The attitude to the family members and their relationships in China and America.

Chin ese people have a big family with variety of relatives, which may be easy to cause competition and suspicion. So in order to maintain order and family harmony, they particularly advocate show ing respect to their seni ority in the light of the theory of law and discipline rite of Confucius. And 'Act you role well' is the key to a harm onious family relati on ship. All the family members should be ran ked strictly and according to their position in the family hierarchy they would be treated separately and be required to do what they should do. So in traditi onal Chin ese family, the elder is highly respected. Pare nts bring up their childre n, the n after pare nts are gett ing old, it is their children re s ponsibility and duty to care for them and give them both

material and spiritual support. In the traditional Chinese family, father was always the cen tre. It is not because the feudal con cept that man is superior to woma n, but also for what man has earned is the main source of family ' s incoming and usually man earns more money tha n woma n. And woma n is resp on sible for the family house worki ng. Though most household affairs are solved and decided by mother, the most importa nt thing related to the whole family are determined by father. Between parents and childre n, pare nts are give n more privilege and right to con trol their childre n. To most Chin ese pare nts, a good child means to be obedie nt and docile. It is no rmal for pare nts to arrange everythi ng for their childre n.

To America ns, it is no rmal that pare nts and childre n are separate; re union is abno rmal. Pare nts bring up childre n and the childre n con ti nue to raise the offspri ng, so the aged is expelled to the society. For the attitude to bring up the children, American parents consider that